03-15-2024, 04:59 PM
(03-15-2024, 03:59 PM)the_conestoga_guy Wrote:(03-15-2024, 11:01 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: I mean, I called this...I'm certainly disappointed, but I don't want to let it completely crush my hopes for this city. I don't plan on moving, so the best I can hope for is to continue advocating for a better future for everyone. Progress may feel glacial, especially with the city sprawling faster than it can build active transportation facilities.
They had better also recommend removing the word "network" from the name.
I know I'm an absolutely cynical asshole, but there is zero chance there will be a cycling connection in this area in the next 10 years.
Duke is out (despite there being enough room, but the idea of running busses on the LRT ROW is something they're unwilling to consider) and Weber is obviously out (cars will NEVER be impeded).
King is possible, but I'd rather see it become a pedestrian plaza, and while the Dutch can mix bikes and peds, I don't think people in Canada can do that...but either way, I don't see it happening either.
So frankly, the downtown cycling grid is effectively dead...and people think people like me leaving are wrong and that there's great hope and progress in North America. Gimme a f***ing break.
KW is lucky to be insulated from most of the effects of climate change, so it's harder to push for real progress on climate-resilient infrastructure here. Obviously compared to the Netherlands, where they're basically sinking into the sea, the political climate is very different.
I actually think this is something that differs between departments within the City and Region, which reflects terribly on upper leadership. On one hand, we're permitting sprawl and everything that comes with that. But on the other hand, the city is spending ten of millions to make Region infrastructure resilient to the increased flood risks along GRCA areas. It just feels like we're lacking real leadership overall, not just with bike lanes.
I'm definitely not saying everyone must or even should move. I stayed and advocated for a decade and a half. But we change and our lives progress. Leaving aside advocacy burnout...I also had a daughter, and I want her to grow up with certain freedoms and safety which are unavailable in Kitchener (or basically all of Canada for that matter). That was a large part of why we decided to move.
But the downtown grid was the one thing that made me feel as though transformative change might be possible. Even then, it would be a generation before the city is meaningfully transformed.
As for climate change risk, yeah, the Dutch have a few serious threats...the rising sea levels are definitely one, but that's something they know how to deal with. IMO the much bigger threat is the cessation of the AMOC...which could transform our climate from balmy and rainy to the frozen tundra of Northern Ontario. It would be absolutely devastating, agriculture is like our biggest export. I really don't think there's any preparing for that...or that such preparations are even possible. For Waterloo, you guys are pretty well isolated...the worst thing that will happen will be vastly more freezing rain...which is like...no big deal.